As Trump’s lies and scandals deepen, the GOP responds as usual – with silence

That Republican elders dare not alienate the ex-president's fanbase shows how fully he has shaped the party in his image

One day he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The next he was on prime-time television pushing election lies, defending his own coup attempt and refusing to back Ukraine.

To his millions of critics, it was another week that proved Donald Trump is unfit for office and dangerous to democracy. But to the top leaders of Trump's Republican party, it was another week to keep heads down and say nothing.